The Chesapeake; A Biography of a Ship
Chesapeake, VA: Norfolk County Historical Society of Chesapeake, Virginia, 1968. Presumed First Edition, First printing. Wraps. Format is approximately 7 inches by 10 inches. 89, [3] pages. Illustrated cover. Illustrations. Maps. Bibliography. Notes. Some cover wear and soiling noted. Including 5 chapters: "The Frigate at Gosport", "An Addition to the Fleet", "Pirates and Petticoats", "Day of Shame", "Moment of Glory", epilogue, Of the first six ships authorized by Congress to be built for the United States Nave, the CHESAPEAKE is probably the one one whose story has not heretofore been told in full. This is the eighth in the series of publications of the Norfolk County Historical Society of Chesapeake. The author, was Chairman of the Publications Committee of the Society. Chesapeake was launched on 2 December 1799 during the undeclared Quasi-War (1798–1800). Chesapeake first put to sea on 22 May commanded by Captain Samuel Barron and marked her departure from Norfolk with a 13-gun salute. Her first assignment was to carry currency from Charleston, South Carolina, to Philadelphia. On 6 June she joined a squadron patrolling off the southern coast of the United States and in the West Indies escorting American merchant ships. Capturing the 16-gun French privateer La Jeune Creole on 1 January 1801 after a chase lasting 50 hours, she returned to Norfolk with her prize on 15 January. Chesapeake returned briefly to the West Indies in February, soon after a peace treaty was ratified with France. She returned to Norfolk and decommissioned on 26 February, subsequently being placed in reserve. Chesapeake was a 38-gun wooden-hulled, three-masted heavy frigate of the United States Navy. She was one of the original six frigates whose construction was authorized by the Naval Act of 1794. Joshua Humphreys designed these frigates to be the young navy's capital ships. Chesapeake was originally designed as a 44-gun frigate, but construction delays, material shortages and budget problems caused builder Josiah Fox to alter her design to 38 guns. Launched at the Gosport Navy Yard on 2 December 1799, Chesapeake began her career during the Quasi-War with France and later saw service in the First Barbary War. On 22 June 1807 she was fired upon by HMS Leopard of the Royal Navy for refusing to allow a search for deserters. The event, now known as the Chesapeake–Leopard affair, angered the American public and government and was a precipitating factor that led to the War of 1812. As a result of the affair, Chesapeake's commanding officer, James Barron, was court-martialed and the United States instituted the Embargo Act of 1807 against the United Kingdom. Early in the War of 1812 she made one patrol and captured five British merchant ships. She was captured by HMS Shannon shortly after sailing from Boston, Massachusetts, on 1 June 1813. The Royal Navy took her into their service as HMS Chesapeake, where she served until she was broken up and her timbers sold in 1819. They are now part of the Chesapeake Mill in Wickham, England. Condition: Good.
Keywords: USS CHESAPEAKE, Frigate, HMS Leopard, Royal Navy, War of 1812, HMS Shannon, James Barron, Barbary War, Stephen Decatur, Quasi-War, James Lawrence, United States Navy
[Book #82115]
Price: $100.00